Ruptured Achilles Ends Bryant's Season

By

Tamara Audi

Updated April 13, 2013 6:50 p.m. ET

LOS ANGELES—A ruptured Achilles tendon will sideline Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant for six to nine months, leaving the team to fight its way into the playoffs without its legendary leader, and shocked fans grappling with the sudden absence of their beloved Black Mamba.

The day after his injury during a game Friday night, head athletic trainer Gary Vitti said the tendon is "gone. It has to be sewn back together," according to the Lakers official Twitter feed.

Bryant collapsed on the court after launching off his left foot in a drive to the hoop late in the second half of Friday night's game against the Golden State Warriors.

ENLARGE

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant grimaces after being injured during the second half of a game against the Golden State Warriors.
Associated Press

The 34-year-old had injured his left knee earlier in the half, but continued to play in obvious pain, scoring 34 points before being forced out by the more serious injury to his tendon. The Lakers went on to beat the Warriors, 118-116.

Bryant was helped off the court by trainer Gary Vitti with 3:06 left in the game, after staying in long enough to make his free-throw shots.

On Friday night, Bryant called it the most disappointing injury of his career "by far. We worked so hard to put ourselves in position and control our fate."

The injury will end Bryant's season on the court. His absence is considered a major blow to the Lakers as they struggle through a tumultuous season to make the playoffs. As of Saturday afternoon, the Lakers were one game ahead of the Utah Jazz for the final Western Conference playoffs spot with two games remaining for each.

At 3:30 a.m. Pacific Time Saturday, a message was posted on Bryant's
Facebook
page: "The frustration is unbearable. The anger is rage. Why the hell did this happen?!?…Now I'm supposed to come back from this and be the same player Or better at 35?!? How in world and I supposed to do that?? I have NO CLUE."

"Do I have the consistent will to overcome this thing? Maybe I should break out the rocking chair and reminisce on the career that was. Maybe this is how my book ends. Maybe Father Time has defeated me…Then again maybe not!"

The post was signed "Mamba Out," referring to Bryant's Black Mamba nickname, after the venomous snake, for his ability to strike suddenly on the court.

Bryant said the injury was far more serious than any he'd sustained before. And because of Bryant's age—he'll turn 35 later in the year—it's an open question as to what kind of player he'd come back as, if he returns at all.

A number of other aging, high-profile players have seen their careers end due to torn Achilles tendons, including former Bryant teammate Shaquille O'Neal and Hall of Famers Isiah Thomas and Charles Barkley.

Fans rallied around Bryant, quickly starting a #PrayForKobe campaign online. On the Facebook page for Lakers Nation, a fan site, a photo of Bryant was posted with the words "The Dark Knight Will Return."

"Please please God heal Kobe as fast as you can and see him through this injury, amen," fan Coo Chee Rodriguez wrote on the site.

Bryant's injury stunned Angelenos—even those with mixed feelings about Bryant, a fixture in L.A. sports. At Taix, a French restaurant and bar in Echo Park, on the east side of Los Angeles, patrons who hadn't appeared to be closely watching Friday's game suddenly became hushed and focused on the television screen broadcasting the game, watching intently as Mr. Bryant left the court.

"Through 17 years of highs and lows, ups and downs, praise and criticism, there hasn't been a more reliable or consistent force in the sporting world," wrote Daniel Buerge, in a column for Lakers Nation, the fan site. "And the sudden realization at how quickly it can all change is far too sobering."

The faithful insisted Bryant would be back, and said they looked forward to his return.

"There isn't a person out there that thinks we've seen the last of him on the court," Buerge wrote. "We'll see you soon, Kobe. You've taught us to count on that."

—Chris Herring, Alexandra Berzon and The Associated Press contributed to this article.

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